Comments

Dear Cathy,
Your title makes it appear that "Taiwanese" is a written language. This is incorrect. Taiwanese is not a written language (only spoken)! My wife speaks/is Taiwanese. I have lived and worked in Taiwan for over twelve years. Tom's books are printed in full character Mandarin, which is standard in Taiwan. (Maybe Tom's books are all audio tapes?) I do not think so. Hey, don't worry, most Americans do not even know there is a Taiwan!

Posted by Jay Slovic at September 27, 2007 9:20 PM

...even for the publication "Taiwanese" it can still mislead readers. Sorry wanted to clarify. Thnx.

Posted by Jay Slovic at September 27, 2007 9:24 PM

Argh! I knew I was going to get it wrong somehow! I did my best to figure out the difference. Jay, where were you when I needed you? I did a strike-through. Is it okay now?

Posted by cathy mosca at September 28, 2007 8:35 AM

Cathy...try wikipedia..your answer is there (5 seconds away!). Saying for "Taiwanese speakers" is not really accurate, since it is written in Mandarin. Saying "is now available in Taiwan" is probably good enough. BTW, this is a perfect example of tomorrow's knowledge worker, the ability "to find" the correct information becomes more important than the knowledge a person has. I only found the answer and directed you to it (I am NOT a Chinese expert). I think this is what gets your bossman so damn excited about blogging, sharing knowledge, etc. It is exciting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language

There are currently two systems for Chinese characters. The traditional system, still used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, takes its form from standardized character forms dating back since the late Han dynasty. The Simplified Chinese character system, developed by the PRC Mainland China in 1954 to promote mass literacy, simplifies most complex traditional glyphs to fewer strokes, many to common caoshu shorthand variants. With a larger pool of synonymous characters, the simplified version is quicker and easier to write and master.

Singapore, which has a large Chinese community, is the first – and at present the only – foreign nation to officially adopt simplified characters, although it has also become the de facto standard for younger ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. The Internet provides the platform to practice reading the alternative system, be it traditional or simplified.

Posted by JJS at September 28, 2007 10:09 AM

Outrageous! And just wait until Beijing learns of this diplomatic assault on their sovereignty :>] ... maybe they'll miss it though while caught up in all things Olympics 2008!

Posted by John at September 28, 2007 5:16 PM